1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to foot pedals for bass drums and is particularly directed to improved bass drum foot pedals having adjustable drive action and which are capable of use with or without electronic enhancement.
2. Prior Art
Foot pedals have long been used for striking bass drums, since the use of a foot pedal frees both of the drummer's hands for use with snare drums, cymbals or other devices. However, most prior art bass drum pedals have been constructed with a fixed drive action. This means that the drummer must vary the force with which the beater impacts the drum head by varying the force applied by the drummer's foot. Unfortunately, some drummers have a "heavier foot" than others and, hence, must constantly guard against causing the beater to strike the drum head too vigorously, while other drummers have a very "light foot" and, consequently, must exert conscious effort to effect a desired beater impact. Some attempts have been made to provide adjustable drive action. However, the adjustable drive action foot pedals of the prior art have been complex and expensive to produce and have been difficult to adjust and maintain. Furthermore, in recent years, electronic enhancement has become widely popular. As a result, some drummers completely replace the bass drum with electronic devices and use foot pedals to actuate the electronic devices. Alternatively, some drummers use both real bass drums and electronic enhancement devices. However, the actuation mechanisms needed for electronic drum simulators is considerably different that needed for actuating a conventional bass drum beater, although it is desirable that both be operable by means of foot pedals. Consequently, some drummers have chosen to use either real bass drums or electronic devices exclusively, while others have used the two alternatively, having separate pedals for actuating the respective types of drum. Still others have attempted to combine the actuation mechanisms for both the real bass drums and the electronic devices. However, most of the prior art combination actuators have provided unbalanced results, with either the real drum or the electronic device being too loud. Thus, none of the prior art bass drum foot pedals have been entirely satisfactory.